RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State women's basketball team defeated Arkansas Tech, 72-66, on Thursday night to give the Lady Rangers their first conference win of the season. The victory moves Northwestern to 6-1 on the year.
Northwestern and Arkansas Tech battled back-and-forth in a tightly contested opening quarter where neither team could build a lead for the first nine minutes. The Lady Rangers eventually surged ahead with a 5-0 spurt off a
Jaida Shipp layup and a
Catyn Graham three-pointer to give Northwestern a 22-16 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The lead quickly jumped to nine in the second quarter behind a
Conley Cayot three before the Golden Suns cut their deficit down to one with 5:32 to play until halftime. Over the next four minutes, the Lady Rangers made eight straight shots to build the lead back up to nine, and
Camille Pritchard scored on a buzzer-beating tip-in to give Northwestern a 46-39 lead heading into the locker room.
A 12-2 run in the middle of the third quarter cemented the Lady Ranger lead, as
Kira Bass hammered away inside the paint and Graham knocked down two more treys to bring the Northwestern lead up to 17. The Golden Suns rallied once again to bring the Lady Ranger lead down to three, but Bass, Cayot and
Summya Adigun put the game away with free throws and jumpers in the final four minutes to give the Lady Rangers a 72-66 win in the Great American Conference opener.
Bass led the Lady Rangers in scoring rebounds, and blocks with 22 points eight boards, and three blocks, giving Bass her third 20-point performance this season. Cayot led in assists and steals with six assists and three steals while also grabbing six rebounds and scoring 11 points, and Graham went 4-6 from beyond the arc in her 14-point performance.
The Lady Rangers will be back in action on Dec. 6, when they travel to Searcy, Arkansas to tangle with seventh-ranked Harding University at 5:30 p.m.
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